Optimized hatch posts

ABSTRACT

Vehicle hatch comprising at least one lateral post, to which a rear window is attached, the post forming a profile having an open cross section and comprising a first and a second U-shaped cavity that each comprise two walls. The first cavity is oriented towards the median plane of the vehicle and comprises a rear wall and a front wall, and the second cavity is oriented towards the rear of the vehicle and comprises an inside wall and an outside wall. The front wall of the first cavity is arranged so as to be continuous with the outside wall of the second cavity, and the rear wall of the first cavity is separated from the inside wall of the second cavity so as to free up a free space that allows for access to the inner portion of the profile.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of motor vehicles and moreparticularly vehicles comprising a rear hatch made of plastics material.

BACKGROUND

The hatch closing the rear opening of the vehicle comprises an upperportion that is connected, by means of hinges, to a roof segment of thevehicle, a lower portion containing technical elements such as theopening controller or the illumination means for the number plate, andcomprises an opening for receiving a rear window. The upper portion andthe lower portion are connected by means of two posts. The rear windowis adhesively bonded, over the entire periphery thereof, to a bondingtrack that is arranged on the posts and on the lower and upper portions.

The hatch may preferably be formed by means of molding, from athermosetting or thermoplastic material.

The profile of the posts has to comply with a plurality of specific andsometimes contradictory constraints.

Indeed, in addition to the structural rigidity required in order towithstand, without deformation, stresses associated with opening andclosing operations, the width of the posts determines the rear field ofview and the width of the rear opening providing access to the storagecompartment. Moreover, the posts have to receive bearing surfaces, onthe side of the vehicle body, that are intended for being brought intocontact with a seal mounted on the fixed portion of the vehicle, as wellas a bonding track, on the outside edge, that is intended for receivingthe rear window. The posts are also capable of accommodating technicalequipment such as a wiring harness or actuators intended forfacilitating the opening and closing operations for the hatch. Thepresence of said technical equipment is associated with someaccessibility constraints in order to facilitate the initialinstallation and then the maintenance of said equipment. Finally, theposts may come to play a role in the aerodynamism of the vehicle and,depending on the visibility thereof, influence the overall appearance ofthe vehicle. For this purpose, a silk-screen printed deposit, of agenerally muted color, the width of which adversely affects theaesthetics of the vehicle and the rear view, is deposited on theperiphery of the rear window in order to cover the technical portion ofthe post which would be visible to the outside, through the window.

In addition to all these constraints, there are also constraintsspecific to the molding method used to industrially produce the hatchfrom a thermoplastic or thermosetting material. The posts are thereforeusually open shapes without undercuts and are easy to release from themold.

In addition, a plurality of publications describing the cross section ofthe posts explain the approaches taken by vehicle designers in order tosatisfy all or some of the requirements set out above.

FR 3 037 286 describes a hatch post having an H-shaped cross sectionthat makes it possible to accommodate the actuator. The overall width ofthe post is substantially equal to the sum of the transverse dimensionsof the bonding track, the bearing surface of the seal, and the actuator.This measure reduces the width of the rear field of view.

FR 3 041 571 describes a U-shaped post comprising a trim on the innerwall of the U that is curved away from the median plane Y0, towards thelateral edges of the vehicle, in order to close the opening of theprofile and in order to increase the rear field of view.

EP 3 241 700 describes a hatch post that also has a U-shaped crosssection that faces the rear of the vehicle. The base of the U forms thebearing surface of the seal and comprises a protrusion that is orientedtowards the front of the vehicle in order to hide the seal from viewfrom the interior of the passenger compartment. The outside lateral wallof the U extends towards the edge of the vehicle, away from the medianplane Y0, in order to form a bonding track on the rear window, andcontinues, assuming an aerodynamic shape and extending as a protrusion,towards the rear of the vehicle. This arrangement does not make itpossible to increase the rear field of view, and does not provide foraccommodation of the technical equipment.

JP2001-328429 proposes an injection-molded thermoplastic hatchcomprising posts having a U-shaped cross section that is open towardsthe rear of the vehicle, and comprising an inner partition in order toincrease the rigidity of the post.

SUMMARY

The object of the invention is that of proposing a hatch that ispreferably formed by molding, from a thermoplastic or thermosettingmaterial and that makes it possible to meet all the requirements set outabove.

The hatch according to the invention comprises at least one lateralpost, to which a rear window is attached, said post forming a profilehaving an open cross section and comprising a first and a secondU-shaped cavity that each comprise two lateral walls.

The posts of the hatch are characterized in that, when the hatch is inthe closed position, the first cavity faces the median plane Y0 of thevehicle, such that the U comprises a rear wall that is arranged towardsthe rear of the vehicle and a front wall that is arranged towards thefront of the vehicle, and in that the second cavity is oriented towardsthe rear portion of the vehicle, such that the U comprises an insidewall that is arranged on the side of the median plane, and an outsidewall that is arranged opposite the median plane towards the lateral edgeof the vehicle, and in that the front wall of the first cavity isarranged so as to be continuous with the outside wall of the secondcavity, and in that the rear wall of the first cavity is separated fromthe inside wall of the second cavity so as to free up a free space thatallows for access to the inner portion of the profile formed by theinside space of said two U shapes.

This specific shape of the cross section of the post makes it possibleto meet the requirements with respect to mechanical rigidity and thereduction in the transverse dimensions of said post, in that it makes itpossible to align the longitudinal direction of the sealing bearingsurface and the bonding track. This results in a reduction in the widthof the post and a reduction in the width of the silk-screen printdeposited on the outline of the rear window. Moreover, this arrangementof two adjacent U-shaped volumes creates an interior space that makes itpossible to arrange the actuator and the cable harness in separaterecesses in order to protect said equipment from any physicalinteraction that may cause malfunctioning.

The hatch according to the invention may comprise the followingfeatures, alone or in combination:

-   -   The front face of the front wall of the first cavity forms a        bearing surface that is intended to be brought into contact with        a seal arranged on the body of the vehicle.    -   The rear window is adhesively bonded to the outer face of the        rear wall of the first cavity.    -   A cable harness runs inside the interior space defined by the        first cavity.    -   An actuator, which is hinged between the roof segment and the        hatch, is arranged in the interior space of the second cavity in        order to facilitate the opening or closing of the hatch.    -   The length of the inside wall of the second cavity is shorter        than that of the outside wall of said second cavity, so as to        increase the rear field of view.    -   The length of the inside wall of the second cavity is greater        than that of the outside wall of said second cavity, and the        extension of the inside wall of the second cavity curves away        from the median plane towards the lateral edge of the vehicle,        forming a non-zero angle with the longitudinal direction XX′, so        as to increase the rear view.    -   A reinforcement part is arranged on the inner or outer wall of        the second cavity.    -   The reinforcement part extends from the outside wall of the        second cavity as far as the end of the rear wall of the first        cavity.    -   The rear wall of the first cavity forms a non-zero angle with        the transverse direction YY′.    -   A removable trim element is arranged between the end of the rear        wall of the first cavity and the end of the inside wall of the        second cavity, in order to block the free passage of the profile        that forms the post.    -   The profiles of the posts are formed integrally with the upper        portion and the lower portion of the hatch, the hatch being        produced by means of molding, from a thermosetting or        thermoplastic material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood upon considering theaccompanying drawings, which are provided by way of example and are inno way limiting, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the rear of a vehicle equipped with ahatch comprising actuators.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the hatch in then open positionand in the closed position.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view, in a cross section according to A-A, of ahatch post according to the invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a hatch post according toa first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a hatch post according toa second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a hatch post according toa third embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The rear portion of the vehicle 1, shown in FIG. 1, shows the rear hatch2 closing the rear opening. As used in the present disclosure, the termhatch refers to the rear door of a vehicle which typically opensupwards. The terms hatchback and tailgate may be used to refer to thesame element.

In the following, the orthonormal frame of reference OXYZ will beconsidered, in which the axis X′OX represents the longitudinal axisoriented from the rear to the front, the axis Y′OY represents thetransverse axis oriented from left to right, the axis Z′OZ representsthe vertical axis oriented from bottom to top. The plane Y0, which isperpendicular to the axis Y′OY, corresponds to the median plane of thevehicle.

The hatch 2 comprises an upper portion 20 and a lower portion 21 whichare interconnected by means of two lateral posts 3.

The upper portion 20 is connected by means of hinges 22 to the roofsegment 101 that forms part of the body 10 of the vehicle 1. A rearwindow 7 is adhesively bonded, at the periphery thereof, to the posts 3and to the upper and lower portions of the hatch.

Actuators 5, intended for facilitating the operations for opening andclosing the hatch, are arranged laterally at the side of each of theposts 3 and are connected, at each of the ends thereof, to pivotingattachment points 51 and 52 that are arranged on the body 10 and on theposts 3 of the hatch 2, respectively. By way of example, the actuator 5may be a jack of the gas-actuated jack type, or a screw jack that isrotated by an electric motor.

FIG. 2 shows the hatch in the open position and in the closed position.For stylistic reasons, it is noted here that, in the closed position,the posts and the inner window form a specified angle with the verticalposition. The cross section of the posts according to A-A is formed bythe intersection of said posts with a plane perpendicular to thedirection of said angle, and corresponds to the cross section of saidpost.

It is also taken into account that the relative positions “front” and“rear”, with respect to the vehicle, apply to the hatch when said hatchis in the closed position, the positions “front” and “rear” remainingindependent of the angle of inclination of the post relative to thevertical.

FIG. 3 is a cross section of the right-hand lateral post 3 that issymmetric to the left-hand lateral post.

A first U-shaped cavity 31 opens towards the median plane Y0. Said firstcavity 31 comprises a rear wall 310 and a front wall 311 that are eachoriented substantially along the YY′ axis.

The second U-shaped cavity 32 opens towards the rear of the vehicle andcomprises an inside wall 320 and an outside wall 321 that are eachoriented substantially along the XX′ axis.

The front wall 311 of the first cavity is connected to the outside wall321 of the second cavity, such that said two walls join and form,therebetween, at the point of convergence 34, a specified angle that isclose to a right angle.

The rear wall 310 of the first cavity 31 and the inside wall 320 of thesecond cavity 32 are separated so as to leave a free space 33 thatallows for access to the inside of the post in order to improve theaccessibility of said space during installation and assembly operationsour maintenance and repair operations for technical members contained insaid post.

The rear face 3100 of the rear wall 310 of the first cavity 31 forms abonding track to which the rear window 7 is adhesively bonded by meansof adhesive tape 71.

The front face 3110 of the front wall 311 of the first cavity 31 forms abearing surface on which a seal 102, mounted on a rabbet 103 of the body10, comes to rest.

The front wall has to provide a sufficiently wide support for receivingthe squashed seal. A width of from 25 to 50 mm, and preferably from 30mm to 40 mm, appears to be suitable.

The rear wall has to provide a large enough width for the bonding track.Said width varies from 15 mm to 50 mm, and preferably from 20 mm to 30mm.

The sealing bearing surface 3110 and the bonding track 3100 are thusaligned, one behind the other, in the direction XX′, which makes itpossible to reduce the dimensions of said two functional surfaces in thedirection YY′, with the aim of increasing the rear field of view.Furthermore, since the sealing bearing surface is arranged closer to thelateral end of the rear window, it is possible to increase the width ofthe rear opening.

A cable harness 4, which is intended for supplying the equipmentarranged in the hatch, is accommodated in the first cavity 31.

The actuator 5, which is intended to facilitate the movements foropening and closing the hatch, is arranged in the second cavity 32. Thedotted circle shows the position of the actuator when the hatch is inthe open position.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, it is necessary to provide a free space in thedirection XX′ in order to allow the actuator 5 to travel between theopen position and the closed position. The length of the inside 320 andoutside 310 side walls of the second cavity 31 thus increases in adirection extending from a lower end of the hatch (I₁) as far as a roofsegment (I₂), so as to allow the actuator to travel inside the twocavities during movements of the hatch about the hinge (I₁>I₂).

Since the first cavity 31 is separate from the second cavity 32, it isthus possible to prevent any contact between the cable harness 4 and theactuator 5.

It will also be noted that the second cavity projects towards the front,and thus makes it possible to hide the seal 102 from view from theinside of the passenger compartment.

The walls of each of the cavities are not necessarily of equal lengths.

Thus, in the case of the post 3 shown in FIG. 3, the inside wall 320 ofthe second cavity 32 is shorter than the outside wall 321. Thisarrangement makes it possible to increase the rear field of view byincreasing the angle formed by a straight line RR′ passing through therearview mirror and through the rear end of the inside wall 320 of thesecond cavity 32.

FIG. 4 shows the case, according to a first embodiment, in which itproves necessary, for reasons of mechanical resistance, to reinforce therigidity of the post 3. For this purpose, a reinforcement part 9 may beattached, by means of adhesive bonding or by welding, in the outside, orpreferably inside, portion of the second cavity 32.

FIG. 5 shows the case, according to a second embodiment, in which, againfor reasons of mechanical resistance, it is necessary to extend theportion of the reinforcement part 9 arranged on the outside wall 321 ofthe second cavity 32 as far as the end of the rear wall 310 of the firstcavity 31. In so doing, the accessibility to the inside portion of thefirst cavity 31 containing the cable harness is impaired in part, butthe partitioning between the two cavities is improved and any risk ofcontact between the actuator and the cable harness is eliminated.

It is optionally also possible, in all the above embodiments, to closethe free passage 33 by means of a removable trim element 6 that has adecorative function and is arranged between the end of the rear wall 310of the first cavity 31 and the end of the inside wall 320 of the secondcavity 32. Said trim element 6 can usefully be inclined away from themedian plane Y0 so as to increase the rear field of view and to reducethe width of the silk-screen printed deposit 70 that is formed on theperiphery of the rear window 7 in order to hide the portion of the post3 that is visible from the outside.

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment, in which, in order to reinforce thestructure of the hatch, the inside wall 320 of the second cavitycomprises an extension 3201 that extends towards the rear and forms anangle a with the longitudinal direction XX′, so as to increase the rearfield of view.

When the rear window 7 has a cavity oriented in the direction XX′, it ispossible to slightly open the bonding track towards the rear byarranging the rear wall 310 of the first cavity 31 such that it forms anon-zero angle with the direction YY′, as can be seen in FIG. 6.

The rear hatch 2 as described above is preferably formed, in each of theembodiments, by means of molding, from a thermoplastic or thermosettingmaterial. Under these conditions, the posts 3 are formed integrally withthe upper portion 20 and the lower portion 21 of the hatch.

It will be noted that the posts comprise undercuts in the direction XX′which is the main extraction direction of the part. It would also benecessary to provide a mold comprising trays that move laterally inorder to mold the walls of the first cavity or, in the case of theembodiment shown in FIG. 6, to mold the extension 3201 of the insidebranch 320 of the second cavity 32.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1 vehicle-   10 body/chassis-   101 roof segment-   102 seal-   103 rabbet supporting the seal-   2 hatch-   20 upper portion of the hatch-   21 lower portion of the hatch-   22 hinge-   3 post-   31 first cavity-   310 rear wall of the first cavity-   3100 rear face of the rear wall of the first cavity-   311 front wall of the first cavity-   3110 front face of the front branch of the first cavity-   32 second cavity-   320 inside wall of the second cavity-   3201 extension of the inside wall of the second cavity-   321 outside wall of the second cavity-   33 free space-   34 point of convergence-   4 cable harness-   5 actuator-   51 attachment point of the actuator arranged on the body/chassis of    the vehicle-   52 attachment point of the actuator arranged on the hatch-   6 trim element-   7 rear window-   70 silk-screen printed deposit-   71 adhesive tape-   8 rearview mirror-   9 reinforcement part-   XX′ longitudinal axis of the vehicle (rear/front)-   YY′ transverse axis of the vehicle (right/left).-   ZZ′ vertical axis of the vehicle-   Y0 longitudinal median plane, perpendicular to the axis YY′-   I₁, I₂ thickness of the post in the longitudinal direction-   a rearview angle

1. A vehicle hatch configured to be rotatably mounted, by means of oneor more hinges, to a roof segment that forms part of the body of saidvehicle, said hatch comprising at least one lateral post to which a rearwindow is attached, the post forming a profile having an open crosssection and comprising a first and a second U-shaped cavity that eachcomprise two lateral walls, characterized in that the first cavity facesthe median plane of the vehicle, such that the U comprises a rear wallthat is arranged towards the rear of the vehicle and a front wall thatis arranged towards the front of the vehicle, and in that the secondcavity is oriented towards the rear of the vehicle, such that the Ucomprises an inside wall that is arranged on the side of the medianplane, and an outside wall that is arranged opposite the median planetowards the lateral edge of the vehicle, and in that the front wall ofthe first cavity is arranged so as to be continuous with the outsidewall of the second cavity, and in that the rear wall of the first cavityis separated from the inside wall of the second cavity so as to free upa free space that allows for access to the inner portion of the profileformed by the inside space of said two U shapes.
 2. The vehicle hatchaccording to claim 1, wherein the front face of the front wall of thefirst cavity forms a bearing surface that is intended to be brought intocontact with a seal arranged on the body of the vehicle.
 3. The vehiclehatch according to claim 1, wherein the rear window is adhesively bondedto the outside face of the rear wall of the first cavity.
 4. The vehiclehatch according to claim 1, wherein a cable harness runs inside theinterior space defined by the first cavity.
 5. The vehicle hatchaccording to claim 1, wherein an actuator, which is hinged between theroof segment and the hatch, is arranged in the interior space of thesecond cavity in order to facilitate the opening or closing of thehatch.
 6. The vehicle hatch according to claim 1, wherein the length ofthe inside wall of the second cavity is shorter than that of the outsidewall of said second cavity, so as to increase the rear field of view. 7.The vehicle hatch according to claim 1, wherein the length of the insidewall of the second cavity is greater than that of the outside wall ofsaid second cavity, and wherein the extension of the inside wall of thesecond cavity curves away from the median plane towards the lateral edgeof the vehicle, forming a non-zero angle with the longitudinal directionXX′, so as to increase the rear view.
 8. The vehicle hatch according toclaim 1, wherein a reinforcement part is arranged on the inner or outerwall of the second cavity.
 9. The vehicle hatch according to claim 8,wherein the reinforcement part extends from the outside wall of thesecond cavity as far as the end of the rear wall of the first cavity.10. The vehicle hatch according to claim 1, wherein the rear wall of thefirst cavity forms a non-zero angle with the transverse direction YY′.11. The vehicle hatch according to claim 1, wherein a removable trimelement is arranged between the end of the rear wall of the first cavityand the end of the inside wall of the second cavity, in order to blockthe free passage of the profile that forms the post.
 12. The vehiclehatch according to claim 1, wherein the profiles of the posts are formedintegrally with the upper portion and the lower portion of the hatch,the hatch being produced by means of molding, from a thermosetting orthermoplastic material.
 13. A vehicle comprising: a body including aroof segment; and a hatch rotatably mounted, via one or more hinges, tothe roof segment, the hatch comprising at least one lateral post towhich a rear window is attached, the post having an open cross-sectionand comprising a first U-shaped cavity and a second U-shaped cavity;wherein the first U-shaped cavity faces a median plane of the vehicle,such that the cavity comprises a rear wall proximate a rear end of thevehicle and a front wall proximate a front end of the vehicle, whereinthe second U-shaped cavity is oriented towards the rear end of thevehicle, such that the cavity comprises an inside wall arranged on aside of the median plane and an outside wall arranged opposite themedian plane, towards a lateral edge of the vehicle; wherein the frontwall of the first U-shaped cavity is continuous with the outside wall ofthe second U-shaped cavity; and wherein the rear wall of the firstcavity is separated from the inside wall of the second cavity to form afree space that allows for access to the inner portion of the firstU-shaped cavity and the second U-shaped cavity.